A U.S. sailor is facing court-martial after being accused of espionage for allegedly mishandling classified documents. The Chief Petty Officer shared defense information with a citizen of an unnamed foreign government at least six times while stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. The sailor, with a long and successful Navy career, enlisted in 2008 and served on multiple destroyers, including the U.S.'s Higgins based in Japan. He received commendations and medals for his service, including the National Defense Service Medal. In August 2022, he was promoted to Chief Fire Controlman.
In November 2022, several months after his promotion, the sailor began sharing classified information with the foreign government. This unauthorized sharing occurred multiple times between November and February. In May 2023, while serving on the Higgins in Japan, he attempted to transfer a picture of a classified screen to the foreign government and was arrested. He is currently in pretrial confinement in San Diego, facing 14 counts of espionage and attempted transfer of classified information.
Notably, this incident coincides with another case involving Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman charged with leaking classified information online. Teixeira was arrested in April, with the sailor's arrest following a month later. The sailor's court-martial proceedings are pending as the investigation continues.
